Nepal consul writes to top cop on cargo clog

Sambit Saha, TT, Calcutta, Oct. 3: The Nepal government has written to Calcutta police underscoring how crucial supplies to the landlocked country are being choked in the busy festival season.

The rare letter from a foreign diplomat to a police chief comes against the backdrop of restrictions imposed on the movement of heavy vehicles in the port area since September 24.

"It is impacting our trade and hence I wrote to the police commissioner," Eaknarayan Aryal, the consul-general of Nepal in Calcutta, told The Telegraph this evening.

"I may have to meet chief minister Mamata Banerjee if the situation does not improve after Pujas," the consul-general added.

The appeal from Nepal changes the complexion of what was initially seen as routine traffic regulations and brings into play a decades-old transit treaty that empowers the neighbour to use the Calcutta port for the smooth movement of trading goods.

Police sources said they would not specifically comment on the letter from the Nepalese consul-general. "We have received representation from many quarters," a police officer said.

This newspaper had reported on Monday that several companies had said stocks were piling up in warehouses near the port as supply schedules had been thrown into disarray because of the ban on trucks from 8am to 10pm.

A representative of the Nepal Cargo Handling Agents Association said that what could be done in a single day is now taking three days to complete. Each day of delay adds to the cost Rs 6,000 a container, he added.

Nepal is feeling the pinch as the volume of trade is usually high ahead of the festive season, the consul-general said.

Moreover, Nepal, in the middle of a rebuilding effort after the devastating earthquake last year, is importing electronic and telecommunication equipment, he pointed out.

Under the trade and transit treaty India and Nepal signed in 1960, the Himalayan neighbour uses ports in Calcutta and Haldia for trade with the external world. It moves containers through Calcutta and bulk cargo like coal and cement through Haldia.

The agreement, which has been amended since then, also allows the use of the Visakhapatnam port for trade but Nepal business has so far preferred the Bengal facilities.

The consul-general said requests had been received from traders for greater use of the Andhra port, and the Nepal government would shortly open an office there to facilitate cargo movement.

Aryal pointed out that the transit treaty did not mention any restrictions to the movement of cargo from the Indian ports to Nepal.

Although Calcutta police have said the traffic changes were meant to decongest the roads around the port during daytime, Indian sources said the restrictions could be construed as impediments to the transit the treaty has assured Nepal of.

Port officials said they were expecting some leeway from the police tomorrow. "The police may allow the movement of export cargo from Kidderpore Dock to Netaji Subhas Dock between noon and 4pm," an official said.

Any relaxation confined to exports will not help Nepal much as it uses the ports largely for imports from elsewhere.

Union shipping minister Nitin Gadkari has called an internal meeting in Delhi on Wednesday to discuss the port road issue. Babul Supriyo, minister of state for heavy industries and public enterprises, will also attend the meeting, sources said.